'Bigfoot' to fight permit ruling in New Hampshire court

Wednesday

MOUNT MONADNOCK, N.H. -- The video shows a large, animal-like figure walking upright on a ridge on the top of Mount Monadnock, one of New Hampshire's most popular hiking attractions.

A group of tourists nearby is then interviewed.

"What is it that you saw?" a man's voice asks off-camera.

"I saw a big, hairy, manlike creature on the top of Mount Monadnock," a teenage boy says, clearly having fun with the surreal scene.

"Were you afraid?" another tourist is asked. "I was horribly afraid," is the answer.

No, it is not the second coming of Bigfoot -- it is just performance artist Jonathan Doyle in his yeti suit, who then acted as off-camera interviewer moments later.

"This is my art," he said recently. "This is what I do for fun. It's about having fun and then posting it on YouTube."

It is the YouTube posting that got Doyle kicked off Mount Monadnock. Park rangers caught the video on the internet, and when Doyle came back to shoot a sequel, the rangers told him no, claiming that Doyle was a "film crew" and needed a "film permit."

Doyle now has hooked up with New Hampshire's American Civil Liberties Union and is suing the rangers for violating his right to "free speech."

"I am not a film crew," Doyle said. "I am just a guy shooting a YouTube video, like millions of other Americans."

For years, the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation has required film permits for various commercial and film projects that require the scenic beauty of the mountain as a backdrop.

The fee is $100. In addition, the "film crew" applicants are required to provide proof of a $2 million insurance policy.

In a response to the suit, New Hampshire's attorney general explained the policy, saying that it is "narrowly tailored to serve the legitimate, significant and substantial governmental interests of managing varied and competing uses of park resources, mitigating the impacts of commercial events, protecting and conserving the park, protecting visitors from unwelcome and unwanted interference, annoyance or danger."

Doyle said he simply cannot afford the $100, much less the insurance policy.

"I'm no Hollywood production company," he added. "I don't have that kind of money. I'm just a guy out there with some friends trying to have fun."